Now that Kevin Love is opting out of his contract, the free agency courting process begins. The Cavs are still the frontrunner to re-sign him — the ability to play with LeBron James and compete for a title every year is probably too much to pass up. But plenty of other teams will make their pitches, not least of all the Celtics, who have been linked to Love for some time. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski has some interesting new details on the pitch the Celtics are planning to make to Love, which involves the potential return of Paul Pierce to Boston.

Sources: If Kevin Love goes forward with visits in July, expect Boston to sell him on pursuing group of Love, Robin Lopez and…Paul Pierce.

There’s a lot going on here. Putting aside the idea of Pierce returning to Boston, which is its own discussion, it’s still difficult to see how this scenario the Celtics are pitching is more appealing than the situation Love already has in Cleveland. Robin Lopez, if he were to sign in Boston, is pretty much the ideal big man to pair with Love, a rim-protecting rebounding machine who doesn’t need the ball and can cover up a lot of Love’s defensive deficiencies. But you know who else is an ideal rim protector and offensive cleanup man to pair with Love? Timofey Mozgov.

Phoenix is more of a long-shot, but he’d be a good fit there, too. They took a step back last year after the loss of Channing Frye, and Love can give them a better version of that same skill set.

What Love does in free agency will come down to how much he values being the No. 1 option on a team versus playing on a contender. If winning is the most important objective, you don’t walk away from playing with the best player in the world, especially in a weak Eastern Conference where you’re more or less guaranteed to make the Eastern Conference Finals at a minimum every year — and probably the Finals. But the Cavs will never be Love’s team, and if he wants that, the Celtics would be a better option. The Celtics have plenty of assets and cap space to chase other players to put around him, as well as a nice young core with Marcus Smart and Jared Sullinger. And if playing with Kelly Olynyk is a problem, Olynyk won’t be difficult to move. It’s not unthinkable that this happens.

Still, the Cavs should be considered the frontrunner to keep Love unless something crazy happens.

The Boston Celtics announced today that Jared Sullinger’s metatarsal stress fracture has healed completely and that he will be available for this evening’s game at TD Garden against the Milwaukee Bucks.

“We are excited that Jared’s recovery progressed quicker than initially expected,” said Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge. “Jared was extremely diligent in his rehab, repeatedly expressing his eagerness to help our team reach the postseason. He will be available in a limited role this weekend as he works his way back to 100 percent game shape.”

This is a major development for the Celtics, who are tied with the Heat for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. (Miami holds the tiebreaker.)

Sullinger, punctuality issues aside, had been starting for Boston. He can score inside and out, and he hits the glass hard. There are defensive issues, but at his best, he competes hard on that end.

Sullinger went down before the trade deadline, when the Celtics acquired Isaiah Thomas, Jonas Jerebko and Luigi Datome. Using those players to spread the floor, Boston has gone 14-10 since, the East’s fourth-best record in that span.

So, Sullinger will have to acclimate to his new teammates, but he’ll fit the style. And he makes the Celtics more dangerous.

It certainly didn’t seem coincidental that Love – then still with the Timberwolves – was in a city with a team interested in trading for him. Maybe he was just using the Celtics to show his desire to leave Minnesota, but I suspect he had at least some interest in landing in Boston.

They’ll likely have much better luck with Monroe, whose agent says the money will be the same everywhere. Monroe had one foot out the door when he accepted the Pistons’ qualifying offer, and he’d fit well next to the Celtics’ young stretch fours, Jared Sullinger and Kelly Olynyk.

As the Celtics try to stay afloat in the Eastern Conference playoff race, they will unfortunately be without starting power forward Jared Sullinger for the rest of the season, according to a press release from the team:

The Boston Celtics announced today that, following further medical evaluation at the New England Baptist Hospital, it was determined that forward Jared Sullinger has sustained a left metatarsal stress fracture and will be out for the remainder of the 2014-15 regular season.

This is a brutal piece of news for the Celtics, who are just one game back in the loss column from the eighth seed. Sullinger was having a nice season, averaging a career-high 14.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game and making strides as a scorer.

The Celtics’ goals this season were never fully clear. Danny Ainge’s asset-based approach to roster construction would suggest they’ve been tanking, but Brad Stevens has been keeping them competitive in games and Ainge just traded for Isaiah Thomas. At 20-32, they’re closer to the playoffs than they are to the bottom of the standings and any real shot at a top-five draft pick. With how bad the Eastern Conference is, they might still make the playoffs. But the loss of Sullinger makes it that much harder, and they may unfortunately be trapped in no-man’s land, which is exactly what Ainge and the rest of Boston’s front office has worked to avoid.